Mattymatt

Yes, I'm now bypassed. The surgery went incredibly well since I took the pre-op liquid diet so seriously. My surgeon have me a gold star, lol. The only pain I have which is really a low ache is from gas. I even managed to walk for almost 50 minutes. My only wish is not getting this surgery sooner. Sent from my Z981 using BariatricPal mobile app

You will be there sooner than you know! [emoji6] Sent from my Z981 using BariatricPal mobile app

Excellent choice!! Sent from my Z981 using BariatricPal mobile app

@fluffychix How do I unlock? Sent from my Z981 using BariatricPal mobile app

Yeah, you will do great! This is actually a walk in the park. It's a breeze. I didn't even need any narcotic pain killers. I'm doing fine on anti inflammatory drugs. Sheeeeeit, I already took a walk that was almost an hour long. Seriously, you got this!!!! Sent from my Z981 using BariatricPal mobile app

The discomfort that I'm feeling now is nothing compared to what I was feeling for most of my adult life. I feel like I've been given a do-over. It is an opportunity that I plan to fully embrace. Sent from my Z981 using BariatricPal mobile app

This is a question for your surgeon. He or she would be the best one to answer that for you. Sent from my Z981 using BariatricPal mobile app

Like me, you are a survivor! And that is huge! Now you are showing love to yourself by giving you the best chances to really live life as a participant and not a spectator. Now that I am 12 hours from needing to leave for the hospital, I find myself at peace and I am hoping that as you get closer, you will find a sense of peace too. This is a new beginning for us. I may end up celebrating my birthday on March 12th going forward. I was born on March 3rd, 1977 but I never really lived. On your day and on mine we will live. Whenever I feel old, I think of Abraham Lincoln's saying, "It's not the years of your life that count, it's the life in your years." So let's make everyday count.

Somewhere along the timeline of our lives we discovered that food elicits a certain amount of pleasurable feeling and, in some theories, the pleasurable feeling is made more intense as it counters the pain of daily life. At least this has been true for me and I've discovered this through therapy. Food to some of us can be like alcohol to an alcoholic. Consider yourself lucky to begin to break free from this cycle but please remain aware that the propensity to turn to food as a solace may still be there but just in a dormant state. The outcome of your surgery is an absolute blessing and it bodes well for long term success. Create a new voice inside your head to remind you that food is only for living not for medicine. :-D

I am less than 24 hours from surgery. If I have one piece of advice to give it is not to neglect the psychological side of this journey. Really examine the reasons that you're overweight now and think about what it will be like to eat to live instead of live to eat (if this what you do.) For me, I lived to eat. Food was keeping me from suicide; it was my life line and I discovered this very late in the time leading up to surgery. If I could have done one thing differently up to this point, it would be to start examining my relationship with food earlier. If I learned one thing, establishing a healthy relationship with food is crucial for long term success and this is where I went wrong in my previous weight loss attempts. This is the reason that I have not met with success in maintenance. All of this came to light just in the past 5 days. The next year of my life will be about learning to manage psychological pain without masking it in a substance.

We will have to do it again though, LOL! 2 weeks after surgery ....

Nice! You get to report at a "human" time. I have to be at the hospital tomorrow at 0545. I don't think they'll cancel for a small cold without a fever.

Good for you for getting back up on the horse!

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a member of the 90% of people who were unsuccessful with long term weight management through diet and exercise alone. Yes, that's the statistic. To the people that would tell me that I took the easy way out I say I took the smart way. I am giving myself the best possible chances at long term weight management. The research shows that 65% of people with a BMI >= 35 that use surgery as a tool have long term success at weight management. Another way of looking at this is over 2/3rds of the people that undergo surgery have success. I would argue that surgery is harder than traditional diet and exercise. We have both mental and physical challenges to overcome with bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery essentially forces a lifestyle change upon us. Ironically, I had a much easier time with medically-supervised diet and exercise. I just failed in maintenance.

Your feelings are very understandable. Let's look at the bright side of things because imagine if this had not been caught and you had undergone surgery with serious complications or even death. I am pulling for you but I truly believe things will work out in your favor.

This is something that I will do as well but so that I can see my own progress. Unlike past times when I would berate myself for being obese to begin with, it's just to get my mind out of the "fat guy" mentality.

It's good that you're calling your surgeon on Monday. If I recall correctly, it is not unheard of (although rare) for latent problems to pop up well after surgery. Just take care and try not to worry.

@The Dora Milaje Is this a habit that one will need to keep for the rest of their lives?

Yeah, LOL ... they don't call it a "meat market" for nothing. It's funny but I actually believe that it really does work. But seriously, meeting people whilst grocery shopping clearly doesn't work for me and that is probably because I am obese. I may smile at someone who I think is attractive but very rarely is the smile returned, much less even acknowledged; I am invisible. In fact, I hate grocery shopping because it is a constant, nagging reminder of the fact that I am fat.

Another March person! Anyhow, I think you should probably take as much time off as you need and not concern yourself with what other people do. Recovery from surgery is a very individual thing and you don't want to rush it because you've heard that other people go back to work quickly so you think you might be able to do that as well. Going back to work prematurely is a mistake you do not want to make.

I am on March 12th too! We're just two days away. Anyhow, to answer your questions ... number 1 is yes and 3 is yes. As for number 2, this is very much dependent on the individual person. I wish I could remember why they want food and drink spaced out.

This is very normal to feel and you're certainly not alone, not in any way. For me the feelings are/were really intense. If you're struggling, the best thing you can do is look hour to hour or minute to minute. If you look too far into the future, it will just make it feel unending.

This YouTube video was just the kind of inspiration that I needed this morning:

Here's something that might be worthwhile: https://thecoconutmama.com/fried-chicken-fingers-grain-free/

Good! It doesn't matter what the surgeon thinks of you personally. The only thing that matters is your health and his responsibility to it. It sounds like that he takes the responsibility very seriously. In this day and age few doctors (let alone surgeons) would give out a cell number. I must say I am impressed.